Cover of the textbook Speakout Advanced Plus - Students' Book

The key answer of exercise 9

The key to exercise solutions in chapter 2.1 - The best mistakes for the textbook Speakout Advanced Plus - Students' Book with authors Frances Eales and Steve Oakes from Pearson Education

Question

  1. Read texts 1-8 below. where does each one come from? How can you tell?
  2. Underline the idioms expressing feeling in each of the texts.
  3. Match comments a)-h) with the idioms.

Answer

a)

  1. Text or email. Informal, similar to spoken English, e.g. use of I, contractions (can't make it today), informal vocabulary (can't make it) but the use of 'etc.' wouldn't fit with a spoken exchange such as a phone call.
  2. Written English. Short well-formed sentences. Probably romantic fiction because of the content.
  3. Written English - a letter / email / posting to a problem page / website. Use of I, contracted forms, and appropriate content. It could also be spoken English with someone relating a problem.
  4. Newspaper or website news. The piece is written in a factual way, in the present, and includes a quote from someone in the story, which is typical of this kind of report.
  5. Spoken (or email) account of a situation. It's written with I. Neutral style.
  6. Written narrative, perhaps from a novel. It is written about he and has well-formed and quite long sentences, although these are not complex.
  7. Lyrics to a song. It has short lines, rhymes and has the content of a typical pop song.
  8. A western novel. Shown by content and vocabulary (horseback, cowboy, gun) and use of direct speech typical of the genre.

b)

brackets show part of the idiom that might change

  1. (I'm) a bit under the weather
  2. (It) made her flesh crawl.
  3. (I'm) coming apart at the seams
  4. (Management) has (its) back to the wall,
  5. (I felt) like a fish out of water.
  6. (His) blood ran cold
  7. ('m) on cloud nine,
  8. (Got) a chip on (your) shoulder

c)

  1. 1
  2. 6
  3. 7
  4. 8
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5